Rebirth Plan to Save Leader

Chapter 14

Inside the Kunning Palace, Yinreng lay on the bed, unmoving. Occasionally, he would lift his head and smile at his Imperial Mother. Li Mu found it amusing and couldn’t help but pinch his cheek. “You toothless little child, still smiling? You can’t even sit steadily yet, so why are you so happy?”

Yinreng thought his Imperial Mother was playing with him, so his small mouth curved into an even wider smile. He reached out a chubby hand, trying to grab her. Li Mu tapped his forehead gently. “Alright, good child. Imperial Mother will take you outside to play, okay?”

She picked the child up, held his plump little feet, and carefully put on his shoes and socks. The child’s leg bones were still soft, so she didn’t intend to take him out for anything strenuous; she simply wanted him to see the scenery outside.

Once the child’s clothes were straightened, Li Mu was about to let Snow Lotus hold him for a moment. To her surprise, the child in her arms waved his hands excitedly. She followed his gaze and was instantly delighted. “Your Majesty, why have you come?”

“I came to see you and the child,” Kangxi said with a smile. “Let’s go. Seeing that you and Yinreng are ready to head out, are we going to the Imperial Garden or the Cining Palace? I will accompany you mother and son for a walk.”

“That would be wonderful.” Li Mu smilingly handed Yinreng to the Emperor and took the initiative to link her arm with his. Since the Emperor had offered, she wouldn’t stand on ceremony. “Your Majesty, let’s walk through the Imperial Garden. Later, we can go to the Cining Palace so Yinreng can pay his respects to his two elders.”

“Very well.” Kangxi looked down at the Empress’s stray locks of hair and gently tucked them behind her ear. Yinreng, however, was dissatisfied with his Imperial Father standing still and began to babble and cry out in grievance. “Ah! Ah, ah!”

“Alright, alright. Imperial Father will take you out.” Kangxi gave Yinreng a mock-annoyed look. He didn’t know who the child had learned this from; the moment he wasn’t the center of attention, he acted terribly aggrieved. He truly had no sense of the atmosphere.

The couple did not specifically take the imperial palanquin. Kangxi, after all, had a body trained in martial arts since childhood. He carried the child the entire way while supporting his wife, showing not a hint of fatigue. When they arrived at the Imperial Garden, it was the beginning of autumn. The leaves were turning yellow, and a few lonely flowers were scattered among the foliage.

Kangxi looked on with some dissatisfaction. He intended to go back and have Liang Jiugong order people to tidy up the garden. Since he hadn’t appeared in the Imperial Garden for some time, its withered state made him frown. He looked down at the Empress. She had been looking forward to viewing the flowers and scenery; he wondered if she would be disappointed by this trip…

Before he could speak, Li Mu took Yinreng from him and happily pointed at a tree. “Yinreng, do you know what this is called?”

Yinreng cooperated with a few “ah-ahs,” and Li Mu’s smile deepened. She kissed the child several times. “That’s right! Yinreng truly is a clever child.”

Kangxi suddenly laughed. The Empress’s temperament was far more optimistic than he had imagined. The clusters of flowers chased by the other concubines were far less important in her eyes than the simple plants she viewed with him and their son.

Kangxi’s eyes were full of warmth as he spoke softly to the Empress. However, this tranquility was shattered barely fifteen minutes later—it was news regarding Lady Zhao Jia; she was about to give birth.

Li Mu instinctively held Yinreng tighter and looked at the Emperor. “Your Majesty…”

Kangxi’s expression was quite grim at this moment. “Empress, you should head back first. I will go and take a look.” He did not intend for the Empress to see Zhao Jia again. Zhao Jia was having a difficult labor, and the imperial physicians had said the child in her womb might be born sickly.

He utterly detested Zhao Jia’s willful behavior and had no intention of giving her another chance to slander the Empress. Furthermore, even if the Empress treated Zhao Jia with the utmost care, that woman might not even be grateful.

“Very well…” Li Mu nodded. Even if the Emperor hadn’t said it, she would have returned to settle Yinreng first. But did the Emperor’s words mean he didn’t want her involved at all?

Li Mu obediently returned with Yinreng and her servants.

Kangxi watched the Empress’s retreating back before turning to Liang Jiugong with a cold face. “Let us go.”

Intermittent cries of pain echoed from the delivery room. The concubines were all waiting in the courtyard. Noble Consort Niuhuru, the leader among them, remained composed. Although she was the first to see the Emperor arrive, she waited for the other concubines to notice him before stepping forward to pay her respects.

Kangxi ignored the eager gazes of the concubines and asked flatly, “What is the situation with Zhao Jia?”

Noble Consort Niuhuru maintained her usual gentle demeanor. “To answer Your Majesty, Lady Zhao Jia is seven centimeters dilated. The Prince should be born in a short while.”

“I see.” For Kangxi, it was best if the child in Zhao Jia’s womb was born safely; if not, he held no high expectations.

Lady Ma Jia had not seen the Emperor for some time. Seeing him now, she nearly moved to tears. She had thought that for the sake of his offspring, no matter how angry the Emperor was, he would come to find her—just as he had once been very angry but hadn’t punished any of them.

However, back then, she hadn’t realized that the Emperor not punishing them meant the matter wasn’t over. The Emperor simply stopped visiting their quarters. This feeling of being out of favor was far worse than any punishment.

“Your Majesty, Sister Zhao Jia won’t give birth so soon. Why don’t you go and rest? I have prepared hot tea and your favorite snacks.”

She spoke with great eagerness.

Kangxi only gave her a brief glance. “There is no rush.”

His words made Ma Jia falter, and the younger Lady Guo Luo spoke up impatiently, “Your Majesty, then I shall stay here and accompany you.”

“Are you saying you will only leave if I order you to?” Kangxi said quite bluntly.

The younger Lady Guo Luo’s face instantly turned unsightly. Was the Emperor still angry? Even the Empress didn’t mind the matter anymore, so why was the Emperor still brooding over something that was in the past?

With the Grand Investiture approaching, her recent fall from favor meant the other concubines were no longer as polite to her as they used to be; instead, they found ways to mock her. She had endured enough.

Kangxi paid no more attention to the concubines fussing around him. In his view, his most favored concubines had previously been the fertile Lady Ma Jia and the younger Lady Guo Luo, whose temperament suited him best. Beyond them, other concubines were either noted for their family status or were like strangers to him. With so many women in the harem, he did not hold everyone in his heart.

When a once-favored concubine left a bad impression on him, given his temperament as Emperor, he would no longer continue to indulge her.

“He’s born! He’s born!” As the midwife’s joyful voice rang out, the concubines in the courtyard all stiffened. Kangxi’s tense brow relaxed. “It’s good that he’s born. Is it a Prince or a Princess?”

The midwife said happily, “To answer Your Majesty, it is a Prince!” Her tone was incredibly excited. Even though the Prince born to Lady Zhao Jia had a weak constitution, it was at least a Prince. A Prince meant more reward money for her!

“Excellent!” Kangxi said with joy. Who would complain about having more sons? Even if he hadn’t held much hope for this pregnancy, Zhao Jia giving birth to his third surviving son was a great cause for celebration!

The other concubines felt a pang of jealousy. The younger Lady Guo Luo felt a secret hatred; why hadn’t the dietary toxins from before simply killed the child in Zhao Jia’s womb? Now she had another competitor for the ranks during the investiture!

“Liang Jiugong, have the imperial physicians examine the Prince’s body carefully. There must be no negligence.”

Kangxi had not forgotten the poisoning the Prince suffered before birth. At this thought, his expression became a mix of joy and complexity. But regardless, it was enough that the child was safe.

“Send people to look after Zhao Jia carefully as well.”

Kangxi was still dissatisfied with Zhao Jia, but since she had just given birth to a son for him, any further displeasure would have to wait until after the child’s one-month milestone.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Liang Jiugong nodded.

Inside the Kunning Palace, Snow Lotus had already gathered news from the Imperial Household Department.

It was very strange; the Imperial Household Department had not prepared any uniforms for the rank of Consort. When she heard this, Li Mu thought she had misheard. Wasn’t that the Emperor’s cousin? Wasn’t she planning to enter the palace around this time? Why was the Imperial Household Department so negligent? She almost questioned their professional competence.

“Your Majesty, isn’t it a good thing that the Imperial Household Department hasn’t prepared consort uniforms? Why don’t you look happy at all?” Snow Lotus was still puzzled. She had been quite happy that no high-ranking consort would be entering the harem, but the Empress’s attitude was unfathomable to her.

Li Mu picked up Yinreng and kissed him again. “I fear the Emperor has other plans,” she said flatly. It would be difficult for her to adapt on the fly.

While they were speaking, a servant returning from the Zhongcui Palace reported, “Your Majesty, Lady Zhao Jia has given birth to a Prince.”

“Is that so? A joyous event. Reward her with double the usual portion for her rank,” Li Mu said. Although she found it strange—Zhao Jia’s child should have been a girl—she considered that since she had come to this world, it wasn’t impossible for Zhao Jia to bear a son instead of the girl she was destined to have.

Or perhaps, because this child was born weak, he wouldn’t survive in the future?

After all, the “real” Third Prince was supposed to come from Lady Ma Jia’s womb. Li Mu was still certain of the original progression, just as her doubt about the Imperial Household Department not preparing uniforms did not change her belief that Lady Tong would enter the palace as a consort as usual.

“Empress,” Kangxi said, looking quite pleased since he had gained a son. “I have been thinking. The little Prince’s body is far too weak; we must find a foster mother for him.”

“Your Majesty, you’ve arrived.” Li Mu’s smile hadn’t even fully bloomed before she heard the Emperor’s next sentence. She was instantly startled. Zhao Jia had only just given birth; why was the Emperor already considering a foster mother?

“Lady Zhao Jia has only just given birth. Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?” The child had only just been born and was already to be separated from his biological mother; even though Li Mu had a rift with Zhao Jia, she couldn’t help but frown.

Kangxi looked at the Empress meaningfully and took her hands in his. “Empress, you do not understand.” He had never intended to let Zhao Jia off for slandering the Empress and neglecting the child in her womb; he was simply waiting for the child to be born.

Furthermore, if Zhao Jia could slander the Empress while pregnant, imagine how arrogant she would be after giving birth to a Prince.

However, it was fine if the Empress didn’t understand. Kangxi stroked her hair. Such a pure mindset was rare in the harem, and he liked it very much.